Getting your puppy to sleep through the night
Once your puppy is old enough to leave his mother and you are allowed to bring him home, it can be an exciting time for you – but a time of great upheaval for the puppy. Leaving the mother, all the new surroundings and people, means that the puppy has lots of new nooks and crannies to explore but will also be looking for comfort and reassurance.
During the day, your puppy will probably be surrounded by a constant stream of companions looking to play with and pet the puppy but during the night, it can be a challenge to leave your puppy alone and get them to sleep. Your puppy will be looking for constant affection as well as having a seemingly boundless energy, which means he is always ready to play – until he’s worn out of course.
Try to make sure that there is a clear difference between day and night for the puppy, with lots of exercise and play in the day and clear guidance that it is time to settle at night time. If you keep your puppy active throughout the day and try to avoid him catching too much sleep after his feeds then he will be exhausted by the evening and ready to sleep at night.
Lead the puppy outside in the evening to encourage him to go to the toilet and avoid any waking during the night. Most of all, as puppies love to be praised, make it clear to your puppy that when he goes to bed in the evening, he is being a good boy.
